Wait- What?
by clagjanet
Summary: Originally published in the 2018 35th Anniversary fanzine. Amanda breaks a date for an evening out with Joe - how will Lee react? Set in the summer of 1986 in the weeks after "All the World's A Stage"
1. Chapter 1

**Wait… What?** (A story originally written for the 35th Anniversary fanzine in 2018.)

 _Set in the weeks after "All the World's A Stage."_

* * *

A phone call at this time of day usually meant someone at IFF needed Amanda for something or other, so Dotty didn't even bother moving from the breakfast table as it rang on the counter.

" _Hey Amanda, it's me_."

"Well, hello you, how are you this morning?"

Hearing Amanda's telephone voice drop into that smiling lower register that said this wasn't a business call after all, Dotty glanced up from the paper, all ears now.

" _I have a favor to ask you and I promise you'll enjoy it."_

Amanda chuckled into the receiver. "Sweetheart, please tell me you're not trying to get me to come along on that trip to Busch Gardens next weekend with you and the boys – you know I don't like roller coasters."

Realizing it was just Joe, Dotty tuned back out and went back to perusing the Personal ads. _It's extraordinary the things people put in their lists of what they look for in a person_ , she mused. She gave Amanda a quick glance as her daughter continued to expertly put together the boys' lunches while simultaneously chatting with her ex. _But whatever it is that Amanda wants, 'Just Joe' doesn't have it anymore._

Joe, meanwhile was laughing and clarifying his request. "No, I know better than to ask that – you can just get queasy later listening to Phillip describe how long the drop is on the Loch Ness Monster ride. Besides, didn't I say it was something you'd enjoy?"

Amanda's mind flitted briefly to Lee saying almost those exact same words years ago when he was trying to invite her to Emily's embassy party. "Yes, you did," she allowed. "So what is it that I'm going to enjoy so much?"

"I just got a last-minute invitation to a Law Journal dinner and I need a plus one."

Amanda's ready gurgle of laughter bubbled up. "And you thought I'd enjoy that? Even when you were the editor, you always said those were the most boring events of all time."

"I did and they were," Joe chuckled along with her. "But this one isn't the usual stuffed shirts thing. The Journal will be 75 years old this year, so they're kicking off a whole bunch of events leading up the anniversary and this dinner is just for all the editors and contributors they can scrounge up. So lots of the old gang are coming – you'd know lots of people there."

"Well, that does sound fun," Amanda admitted.

"And I haven't even told you the best part," said Joe. "A friend of mine is on the organizing committee and guess who's getting a special honor for continuing contribution to journalism and the law?"

"You?" Amanda hazarded a guess. "Although your contribution was more along the lines of selling newspapers by being in the middle of an international incident," she teased him.

"Good guess but nope! Kat!" replied Joe.

"Really?" Amanda almost squealed with delight. "That's wonderful!"

Kat Hastings was one of her oldest college friends – actually not just Amanda's but Joe's as well. She'd been Amanda's sorority sister first, but when she'd gone into pre-law and met Joe, she'd been the one to introduce them – and claimed Maid of Honor privileges at their wedding as her reward. She'd never settled into a lawyer's life properly, ending up in a peripatetic life instead and writing a syndicated newspaper column on legal stories from around the world with her trademark humor and wit.

"But hang on – isn't she living in San Francisco these days? How are they getting her here?"

"Who knows?" laughed Joe. "She probably thinks she's coming to do a student seminar or something. But she definitely doesn't know about the award – my friend swore me to secrecy!" he allowed himself another chuckle. "But I figured I could tell you as long as you promise not to tell anyone else."

"I promise!" answered Amanda without hesitation. "When is it?"

"This Friday, the 13th."

Amanda closed her eyes and grimaced. She and Lee had developed a kind of unofficial date night for Fridays. They hadn't been together long enough for it to be officially a thing, but their usual after-work drink had quietly expanded to include a light dinner that got her home early enough not to alert her mother.

"What's the matter? You're not superstitious are you?" joked Joe.

"No, I just had to think if I had anything else on," she said glibly. "But there's nothing I can't get out of. What time can you pick me up?"

After arranging all the details, Amanda hung up and stared into space, absently chewing a cuticle. It wasn't just that she'd be breaking their usual date, it was that she was going out with Joe – and she knew Lee always got that look on his face when she talked about her ex. It was that slightly hangdog expression, the one she'd caught on his face a few times when they were working to clear Joe's name a few months ago. She hadn't completely understood it at the time, but she recognized it now; it was the expression of someone who thought the fact that she still loved her ex meant there was a possibility she still _loved_ her ex.

 _I could just not tell him_ , she thought, and just as quickly discarded the idea. If it even _looked_ like she was sneaking around to see Joe, well, no, she just wasn't even going to test out what that face would look like…

 _I'll tell him tomorrow_ , she decided. _It'll be fine_.

"What are you thinking about so hard, Darling" asked Dotty, breaking her train of thought.

"I, uh… I was just thinking I should bake some brownies to take to work tomorrow."

"Planning to bribe that Mr. Steadman of yours into a raise?" asked Dotty. "Or maybe something else?"

Amanda couldn't mistake that particular rise on her mother's eyebrow as anything other than innuendo and sighed. "Something like that, Mother. It looks like I need to make sure I'm not working late next Friday."

* * *

In the end, bringing Lee's favorite brownies wasn't even necessary.

"Oh damn it," she heard him mutter under his breath as she walked in. He was staring at his appointment book, tiny furrow in his forehead, and then he looked up with a slightly guilty expression.

"What's the matter?" she asked. "Did you forget you had to be somewhere?"

"Kind of," he admitted. "Uhhh, Amanda… You know how we've been doing dinner after work on Fridays?"

"Yes, and I wanted to talk to you about-"

"I can't go next Friday," Lee went on, ignoring her interruption. "I was just looking at my week and realized that I promised an old friend I'd see them that night."

"An old friend?" There was something in his tone that sent her senses tingling, but it was probably her own guilty conscience, she decided.

"Yes," he answered. "I mean… I can get out of it, but I haven't seen Al in ages and…"

"No, no, it's fine," said Amanda quickly. "I was actually going to cancel as well."

"Family stuff?" Lee asked, now looking faintly relieved that she was taking it so well.

"Kind of," she admitted.

 _I don't need to give him the details – he'll only fret_ she told herself.

"Tell you what – Joe's taking the boys away this weekend, right? How about we go out for a proper dinner date on Saturday instead?"

"That would be nice," she beamed at him. "We could try out that new place, Emilio's."

"That would be great," Lee grinned back at her happily.

"And then we'll go somewhere extra-special for your birthday next week – I already told Mother we had a sponsors' dinner that night so I can get dressed up without getting the third degree."

It hadn't seemed possible for Lee's smile to get broader, but somehow it did. He got up from his desk and walked to where she'd sat down, bending down to kiss her lightly. "You know, I can't remember the last time I did something special for my birthday – and anywhere you are is extra-special."

Amanda blushed and ducked her head before looking up to meet his eyes. "Well, everyone deserves a treat on their birthday, don't you think?" She leaned back and smiled demurely. "And since Francine is nowhere in sight, maybe I could give you a preview…"

Lee looked mildly shocked for a moment before leaning forward again. "Really?" he asked in hopeful tones.

"Really," purred Amanda. She reached across her desk and pressed the Tupperware container against his chest. "I brought those brownies you like."

Lee chuckled but continued to lean in, not stopping until his lips were brushing against hers lightly. "The ones with the Heath bar pieces in them?" he breathed out against her mouth and felt her laugh.

"Of course."

He pressed a quick kiss on her, then straightened back up, clutching the container in his hands. "Then I am hiding this in the vault before Francine gets wind of them."


	2. Chapter 2

"Wow, you lawyer types sure scrub up nice," commented Amanda as her eyes swept the room, looking for Kat.

"You're not so bad yourself," teased Joe as he tugged at his bowtie. "And I bet you're a darn sight more comfortable in that dress than I am in this stupid tux."

"Really? Are you in heels?" asked Amanda, resisting the temptation to reach out and fix his tie for him after he'd knocked it askew. "Because if you're not, I win."

"No, no heels" Joe chuckled in resignation. "But between the tie and the cummerbund, I feel like I'm strung up in a hostage situation."

"Oh, come on, I bet it's not even as uncomfortable as a straitjacket," replied Amanda without thinking. "I mean, I would guess… they look…" she added when Joe looked at her in astonishment. "I tried one on once when we were doing a documentary about old mental hospitals…" she finished weakly.

"You do some pretty weird things with that film company," said Joe. "I mean, why'd you have to go all the way to California to do something about international aid programs last month when you could have just asked me?"

"Oh well, Sweetheart – for some reason, you just don't have the same public interest as Randall Skylar does," Amanda teased him.

"I suppose not," Joe admitted with a grin. "And I guess you couldn't really tell them that you're a close personal friend of the Prime Minister of Estoccia... Hey, there she is!" He pointed across the room to where Kat was surrounded by a gaggle of awestruck law students, hanging on her every word.

Kat looked up and almost shrieked as she raced across the room. "Thank the Lord! My two favorite people in the world come to save me from the boredom of a Journal event!" She threw her arms around Amanda, hugging her tightly and being hugged in return. "I was going to call you tomorrow! I can't believe I didn't think you'd show up here!"

"Well, I heard through the grapevine that you'd be here," smiled Joe as he got his hug in turn. "And Amanda was free to come along so we thought we'd surprise you."

"Well, you sure did!" Kat paused and looked back and forth between them. "So you two aren't, uh…?" her question trailed off and Amanda rushed to finish it.

"Back together? Oh gosh, no!"

"Thanks for the boost to my confidence," laughed Joe. He dropped his voice into a stage whisper and leaned closer to Kat. "My ex-mother-in-law says she thinks there's someone at work."

"She didn't say that!" exclaimed Amanda, blushing scarlet. "Oh my gosh, what am I saying? Of course she did," she went on, completely mortified as Kat and Joe both began to laugh.

"Well, together or apart, I'm just so happy to see you both," said Kat, beaming.

"How about I get us all some drinks while you two get a head start on catching up?" suggested Joe.

"Oh, I have one on the way," said Kat, glancing around the room. "If my poor date can find me again after I ran over here."

"Ooohhh, a date?" Amanda seized the opportunity to tease her back. "Someone at work?" she added as Joe snorted.

"No," said Kat distractedly. "He does something with NASA. I just dragged him a long because it would look so depressing to walk into a party alone on a Friday night."

"You're dating an astronaut?" Joe asked in amazement. "How does that even happen?"

"Well, you know, someone has to be the astronaut, right?" Kat laughed with delight. "And he's one of my oldest friends – oh, there he is!" She waved someone over.

Amanda and Joe had just started to turn to look when Kat's date spoke from behind them.

"You know, Allie, you'd get your drink quicker if you just…"

"Stayed put," finished Amanda, looking into Lee's shocked face, knowing she must look much the same.

"You know, Skippy, you're the only person that still calls me that. And stay put? Pffft, you know that's never going to happen," said Kat, taking the drink out of Lee's hand when he made no move to give it to her. "Where's the fun in staying in one place, right?" She paused, suddenly taking in the electric atmosphere. "Amanda, Joe, this is Lee Stetson. Lee, this is Joe and Amanda King." She tilted her head and looked again. "But why do I get the feeling you already knew that?"

"Hi, Lee." Joe was the first to speak. "Good to meet you again."

Lee dragged his eyes away from Amanda's and gave Joe a polite smile. "Uh, yeah, hi, Joe."

"So I hear you're with NASA now?" Joe joked. "That must be interesting. Although probably not as interesting as dating Kat, I bet."

"You told them the astronaut story, Al?" Lee turned to glower at Kat. "Why do you do that?"

"Because it's so much fun watching you try to spin the yarns to pretty girls," said Kat promptly. "It's so much funnier than your usual film director cover. So how do you all really know each other?" She looked around and leaned in, dropping her voice to ask laughingly, "Are you all secret spies together?"

Amanda and Lee exchanged another quick look, but it was Joe who answered.

"Lee was the agent when I had that thing last year," he explained, quietly.

"That thing? That Joe King, International Fugitive thing?" Kat turned to Lee. "How come you never told me that?"

"Why would I?" he countered. "I mean, how do you even know…" he gestured helplessly at Amanda and Joe.

"Oh, you know us lawyers – we all know each other," grinned Kat. "But actually, Amanda and I were sorority sisters and I met Joe in our pre-law classes. And then I introduced them and the rest is history."

"Why do you call her Allie?" asked Amanda, finding her voice again at last.

"Because that's her name?" replied Lee, forehead crinkled in confusion.

"It's my first name," corrected Kat. "Actually Alice is my first name, but I stopped using it in college after that stupid White Rabbit song came out. I got tired of people making "Go Ask Alice" jokes. You probably never heard my whole name because you didn't join the Kappas until you were a sophomore, Amanda, but when I joined, the girls heard my name was Alice Katherine and started calling me Allie Kat, and then it just turned into Kat."

"And you know each other from…?" Amanda gestured between Kat and Lee.

"From forever," said Kat promptly. "Lee was my boyfriend in the second grade."

"Wait… what?" Amanda started to stammer out, but Kat just kept talking.

"Of course, he didn't want to be because he was a ladies' man even then, but I told him he was mine after he beat up a couple of boys that were picking on me. He got two black eyes and a bloody nose-"

"And he never shed a tear," Amanda said. "You're _that_ Alice?"

"Wait… what?" Lee asked. "What do you mean _that_ Alice? How do you know about her?"

"Your uncle told me the story about that fight," she answered. "He was very proud of you."

"He was proud of me? Are we talking about the same guy?" Lee snorted.

"Wait… You've met Lee's uncle?" interrupted Joe. "How did that happen?" He looked back and forth from Amanda to Lee. "Hang on, have you two been..? Since December? And you didn't tell me?"

"No, not since December," muttered Amanda, shooting him a guilty look. "Since about two years ago."

"Almost three," Lee corrected her. "So you never told him about us?"

"Neither did you!" she pointed out. "And you're the one who said I couldn't tell my family!"

"Oh, now wait just a damn minute, after that whole thing last year, you had to know I thought you'd tell Joe!"

"Three years ago?" Joe's voice went up in volume and Amanda rushed to shush him. He fought to get himself under control. "Okay, three years… So how the hell did you end up dating a spy?" he growled more quietly.

"Actually, they don't like to be called..." Kat started to tease as Amanda rushed to explain.

"I didn't say we've been _dating_ for three years," she muttered. "We've _known_ each other for three years."

"Wait… you've known Amanda for three years and never tried to date her?" Kat turned to stare at Lee. "What on earth were you think-" She stopped dead as Lee glared at her. "Oh my God, is Amanda the goody two-shoes at work you said drives you nuts?"

"Wait, what?" said Amanda, turning a hurt expression on Lee. "You said that?"

"I said that years ago and you know you drove me nuts back then," responded Lee. "You still do," he added, just loud enough for her to hear him. "I just got to like it."

Amanda hiccupped out a small laugh that she tried to turn into a cough as Joe entered the fray again.

"Okay, wait a minute, wait a minute," said Joe, waving his hands in front of his face as if clearing the air. "So let me get this straight – when we were all running around last December, you two had known each other for _years_? You didn't just meet because of that?"

"Well, to be fair, Sweetheart, we never said we'd only just met," offered Amanda. She could almost feel Lee's grimace at her use of the endearment and turned to give him an apologetic look.

"You never said you hadn't either!" exclaimed Joe. He stared into space for a minute before a look of realization went across his face and he pointed an accusing finger at Lee. "That's why you called out her name in the library – I thought you were worried about dragging a witness into it, but you weren't even looking for me, you were looking for her!"

"I was looking for both of you," retorted Lee. "But I knew Amanda would have kept you safe somewhere."

"You knew… wait, wait, wait," Joe shook his head again. "So you don't just know each other – Amanda, do you work for the Agency?" He shook his head in disbelief as Lee and Amanda exchanged a guilty look. "So you're a… what exactly?"

"Um, a trainee is probably the best way to describe it," explained Amanda as Lee coughed to hide his laugh, much as she had a few moments before.

"And you never told me any of this," marvelled Joe.

"No, I'm sorry," said Amanda. "I should have but it was, well it was kind of need to know."

"And you didn't think I needed to know that?" asked Joe incredulously. "You're the mother of my children!"

"Well, I was going to tell you. Eventually," said Amanda in wretched tones. "I just hadn't found quite the right moment…"

"We were being shot at!" hissed Joe. "They tried to kidnap the boys! I could have gone to prison in Estoccia! And you couldn't find the right moment to tell me you were an agent assigned to my case?"

"I wasn't assigned!" Amanda defended herself fiercely. "I was helping _you_ , not the Agency!"

"I can vouch for that," Lee said helpfully. "She went all need-to-know about you when I asked."

"That is not helping!" Amanda turned and glared at him.

"This is the most fun I've had in ages," said Kat, looking from face to face with glee. "You guys should go on TV with this."

"Also not helping," Amanda shot her a dark look.

"If it hadn't been for Amanda, you would have just arrested me, wouldn't you?" Joe asked Lee.

"Well, your fingerprints _were_ on the gun," Lee began to defend himself. "And you ran away!"

"Would you even have listened to my side of the story? You feds are all-"

"Joe!" Amanda poked him in the chest. "You just wait a darn minute! Lee saved Phillip and Jamie from that man! You don't get to tell him off for doing his job!"

Joe stared at her for a beat, then turned to Lee. "She's right," he sighed. "You did – I kind of forgot that for a second."

Lee shrugged and looked embarrassed. "Like she said, it's my job."

Joe shook his head and gave a short laugh. "Maybe so – but it was personal, wasn't it?"

"Yeah." Lee shifted uncomfortably. "Phillip and Jamie are pretty great kids. From what I hear, I mean."

"You're talking like you've never even met them!" said Joe. "Oh. Of course, you haven't," he said as he figured it out. "They would have recognized you that day."

"He couldn't," said Amanda. "Mother and the boys can't know anything about what I do."

"But you said you met his uncle?" Joe said, looking confused. "How come his family knows and yours doesn't?"

"My uncle has clearance, I guess you'd say," Lee explained.

Kat snorted. "Clearance? Your Uncle Bob is like a living vault. No emotion in, no emotion out." She turned to Joe. "He's a colonel in the Air Force – he brought Lee up after his parents died."

"I'll admit he's a bit… challenging, but he's quite nice when you get to know him," chided Amanda.

"Wait – what do you mean you got to know him?" asked Kat, looking at her with wide eyes. "You can't mean you got Lee to spend more than five minutes in the same room with him!"

"Don't be so mean! And to think he told me he liked you!" said Amanda, trying to distract her. "He said you were a sweet little girl!"

This time it was Lee that snorted. "He may have liked her, but he didn't know her very well. She was right in there with me in that fight." He grinned at Kat. "Now that I think of it, I guess Amanda wasn't my first female partner after all."

"Wait a minute… Your partner? I thought you said you were just a trainee or something!" Joe was trying to keep his voice down, but even so, people were turning to see what was going on.

"Maybe we should take this somewhere else," suggested Kat. "Maybe somewhere you guys can yell as much as you like."

"We're not going to yell, nobody has any reason to yell about anything" Amanda scolded her. "And we can't leave anyway," she sighed, remembering why they were there.

"Why not? There's nothing keeping us here, is there?" grinned Kat. "Come on, let's ditch the fuddy-duddies!"

Just at that moment, a microphone crackled followed by the voice of the evening's emcee. "Ladies and Gentleman, if I could have your attention… tonight we come together to celebrate not only 75 years of the Journal but also to award special recognition some of our finest editorial alumni. And we'd like to start with someone who will be familiar to you for so much of her work with promoting the ins and outs of law in her internationally-syndicated column, "Madam's Justice with A.K. Miller… Kat, can you come on up here?"

"Oh no," groaned Kat. "Wait a minute - did you know about this?" she asked Lee. "You know I hate these things."

"How would I know that?" asked Lee.

"I don't know," she replied. "Super Spidey spy sense, or something?"

"We knew," smirked Joe, gesturing to Amanda. "But apparently that was another thing around here that was need to know."

"Hardee har har," Kat gave him an annoyed look. She pointed at each of them in turn. "Larry! Curly! Moe! Do not move! I want to hear the end of this story!" She waited until they all nodded, then turned to walk up to the podium to great applause.

"I thought your sorority friend was named Kitty?" Lee looked at Amanda with confusion. "You mentioned having to break a date with her that time I asked you to-". He stopped abruptly remembering exactly which case that had been – the Caribbean cruise where they'd had to get married.

"Oh no, that's a different one," said Amanda, immediately smoothing over that pause. "Even though their names were similar, Kitty and Kat were like night and day – Kitty couldn't wait to find a boy and get married and have kids and settle down in the suburbs, but Kat was our wild child – she only wanted the find-a-boy part. She liked being a bridesmaid but never wanted to be the bride. She was always the adventurous one – I really admired that." Her face suddenly lit up and she began to laugh. "Gosh, no wonder you two are friends – she's like the female version of you!"

"Is that why you became a spy?" interrupted Joe. "Because you were bored with our marriage?"

"Oh Joe, I didn't even meet Lee until long after we broke up," sighed Amanda. "You know perfectly well why we divorced."

"I thought I did, but I'm discovering all sorts of new things about you tonight," he grumbled.

Lee and Amanda exchanged a silent uncomfortable look, while Joe looked from one to the other suspiciously.

"I need a drink," said Joe, finally. "You want one?"

Amanda nodded. "Oh yeah," she muttered. She started to follow Joe over to the bar before realizing Lee was still standing in place. "Aren't you coming?" she asked, puzzled.

"I wasn't sure you'd want-"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, come on!" Amanda grabbed his arm and tugged him along with her. "You'll make it seem even worse if you just stand there!"

Up on the podium, Kat was being given her plaque and ushered to the microphone.

"Well, good news folks, I had no idea this was happening tonight, which means I have no speech prepared," she quipped, earning a round of laughter from the crowd. "I really appreciate this recognition and I really appreciate that I got to share this evening with all of my oldest and dearest friends – their friendship helped me along the road to where I am today. And that being true, I'm just going to say thank you and go get roaring drunk with them to celebrate. And I suggest you do the same because, hey, what else is an open bar for, right?" She waved the plaque at the applauding crowd, and stepped off the podium, bee-lining for the trio by the bar, but being stopped along the way by people wanting to congratulate her.

"So… that's your old friend, Al, huh?" said Amanda, lips twitching.

"So this is your family stuff?" replied Lee, eyes starting to dance.

"Joe is family," she reprimanded him lightly, feeling a flash of guilt when a shade of 'that look' dimmed his smile. "I'm sorry– it's really not a date or anything and I should have just told you. But you could have just told me too," she pointed out.

"I could have, but it seemed… weird," Lee admitted. "I thought it would bother you if I said I was going out with someone else, even if it really wasn't a date."

"Wait a minute," said Joe, looking between them with a perplexed expression. "I thought you said you weren't dating?"

"We aren't dating!" said Amanda, automatically. "We just work together!"

Lee turned to her with a startled expression. "What?"

"Oh my gosh!" Amanda gave out a gasping laugh and reached out to put her hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart – it's just such a habit."

Lee's smile lit up as he lifted his free hand to cover hers. "That's a relief. I thought you were mad at me after all."

"Sweetheart?" exclaimed Joe. "Wait - so Dotty was right? There's 'someone at work'?"

"Ah, well," stammered Amanda. "We _weren't_ dating when you came back, but, uh…"

"Wait a minute… so you came out with me tonight without telling your girlfriend?" asked Kat, who had finally arrived in time to hear the last part of the conversation. "Just how big an idiot are you, Skippy?"

"This big," Lee answered with a sheepish look, holding his arms out wide.

"Yeah, well, I kinda did the same," Amanda admitted. "We're still figuring this whole thing out."

"But how did you end up like this at all?" Kat dimpled at them. "Did I miss that part?"

"No, but I think Amanda was just about to explain how she ended up as a trainee spy," said Joe with a pointed look at his ex-wife.

"Agent," Lee and Amanda corrected him in unison.

Joe rolled his eyes. "Agent, then."

"Well it's a long story and we…" said Amanda.

"Have all the time in the world to hear it," laughed Kat. "Come on, let's go find a quiet corner and you can spill everything."

Lee and Amanda exchanged a look. "Not everything," said Lee.

"Well, at least how you met. And why she drives you nuts. And why you put up with his grumpy ass," said Kat. She turned to Joe and linked her arm through his. "And you can start by telling me all about your adventures in assassinations…" She led him off through the crowd. "So are you still at EAO? Good, because I have the perfect girl for you. She works downstairs in the same building and I met her while I was touring with my last book. You'll just love her, her name's Carrie…"

Lee and Amanda didn't follow immediately, pausing to look at each other instead.

"I'm sorry," they both blurted out at the same time, and then began to laugh together.

"No, Amanda, I'm really sorry," said Lee, taking her hand and running his thumb along her knuckles. "I just… you know I have a history… and Allie – Kat – whatever – she isn't part of that side of it, but I didn't think you'd believe me and-"

"Well, I like to think I would have," Amanda allowed. "But let's face it, I probably would have thought, well, exactly what you think I would have thought." She let out a small huff of laughter. "Even though I did the same thing because I thought you'd think me having an evening out with Joe was something to worry about."

Lee grimaced. "Yeah, well, is that going to be a problem, do you think? Him finding out everything? And like this?"

"Yes and no," she answered. "I should have told him before now, but at least now everything is out of the bag at once. I think he'll come around – if there's anybody who understands doing something for the greater good, it's Joe, right?"

"Right." Lee leaned in and kissed her. "We'll work on that one together, okay?"

"Yeah," Amanda smiled. "Together's better." She linked her arm through his and turned to slowly follow Kat and Joe across to the quiet corner Kat had promised. "So that's little Alice? You really kept in touch all these years?"

"Yeah," Lee replied. "We kept crossing paths on different bases and we were pen pals in between. Girls like that kind of thing and my uncle made me keep it up as an exercise in penmanship. Not that it was a chore - even back then, she was a fantastic writer – really funny and observant. And I liked her a lot – we always got up to no good together."

"Wow, that writing exercise did not help your chicken scratch at all," chuckled Amanda. "And just think, if you'd ever visited her when we were at college, we could have met years earlier."

"Maybe we did and don't remember," laughed Lee. His face lit up, eyes and dimples dancing as he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "After all, who do you think taught me how to break into a Kappa house in ten seconds flat?"


End file.
